The present invention relates generally to the field of systems and methods for three-dimensional (3D) imaging including, but not limited to, systems and methods for 3D image processing and for 3D visualization of objects and targets in a scattering medium.
Integral imaging and digital holography techniques have been studied for real-time sensing, visualization and recognition of real-world objects. Integral imaging is a passive three dimensional (3D) imaging technique that utilizes multi-perspective information to extract the depth information of a 3D object. In such a system, a lenslet array or an imaging device with a synthetic aperture captures a set of 2D elemental images from slightly different perspectives that together contain the 3D information of an object. The computational modeling of integral imaging for 3D visualization of the object can be performed by using a virtual ray propagation algorithm.
In digital holography, a digital hologram, i.e. the diffraction pattern of the object illuminated by coherent light, is recorded on an image sensor. The original 3D field of the object is computationally reconstructed from the digital hologram of the object by using a virtual Fresnel propagation algorithm.
These two 3D optical imaging systems have found a variety of applications including 3D image recognition, occluded 3D object visualization, automatic analysis of 3D microscopic image data, holographic tomography, and 3D display.
Current technologies used in the field to address visualization of objects in scattering media comprise the use of Laser Radar (LADAR). LADAR suffers from being expensive, complex, and limitations of photon counting sensors. Also, it cannot be used for persistent surveillance.